1) Brennan Johnson, 20, Nottingham Forest
At times it is hard to remember that this is the electric winger’s first true taste of the Championship. Johnson, the son of the former Forest striker David, has lit up games with direct bursts forward, providing five assists and five goals this season, the first an equaliser at local rivals Derby. Johnson scored an 11-minute hat-trick on loan at Lincoln in League One last season and is primed to play a part in Wales’s play-off quest to reach Qatar 2022. He is not short of top-flight admirers but Forest are determined to keep the academy graduate.
2) Isaiah Jones, 22, Middlesbrough
It has been an incredible rise from eighth-tier Tooting & Mitcham United, where West Ham’s Michail Antonio started his career, to Middlesbrough, for whom he made his league debut in August after returning from a productive loan at Queen of the South. Jones, who once trialled at Charlton, bypassed the under-23s at Tooting to become a non-league regular at 18. At his best driving forward, he has developed the defensive side of his game playing as a right wing-back for Boro. Wanted on loan by League Two clubs in the summer, he is now at the heart of Boro’s push for the Premier League.
3) Keane Lewis-Potter, 20, Hull City
Locals no doubt knew they were witnessing someone a bit special when he finished one season with 128 goals for Hessle Rangers in the Hull & District Youth League. Lewis-Potter joined his hometown club at 14, played for the under-23s at 17 and last season scored 15 times as Hull were promoted to the Championship. A winger who likes to dance off the left flank, he is quick and composed. At a time when Jarrod Bowen is drawing praise in high places, Hull have another tricky winger destined for big things.
4) Jordan Zemura, 22, Bournemouth
The defender has proven influential since impressing on his league debut in August in the Championship’s curtain-raiser, with Scott Parker entrusting him with being his first-choice left-back. This month Zemura, who spent three years at QPR, is set to represent Zimbabwe at the Africa Cup of Nations, three years on from working as a glass fitter after his release by Charlton. His biggest asset is surely his athleticism given the way he bounds up and down the flank. “It feels like my superpower,” he says.
5) Alex Scott, 18, Bristol City
Socks rolled down towards his ankles, no wonder the midfielder has been labelled the “Guernsey Grealish”. “I try to model my game on him,” Scott says. He travelled from the Channel Islands to Southampton, who released him at 12, and then Bournemouth as a youngster but while at eighth-tier Guernsey FC, for whom he played regularly aged 16, he impressed Bristol City on a week’s trial, scoring a perfect hat-trick in an under-18s game. Made his Championship debut as a 17-year-old in April and he signed a new four-year contract in August, a month before his England Under-19s debut.
6) Ronnie Edwards, 18, Peterborough United
Thrust into the heart of the Posh defence after promotion, the centre-back, who turned 18 in March, has admirably dealt with what Neil Warnock would term the “muck and nettles” of the Championship. Edwards, who signed from Barnet as a 17-year-old, impressed Darren Ferguson in pre-season and is developing all the time in a team fighting relegation, showing aggression and a touch of class, while the chairman, Darragh MacAnthony, has tipped him to reach the top flight. Made his England Under-19s debut in October.
7) Scott Twine, 22, MK Dons
No player has more goal involvements in League One – 11 goals and seven assists across 21 games this season – and those numbers are even more impressive when considering he was on loan at sixth-tier Chippenham Town as recently as 2020. That summer a swerving strike for his hometown club, Swindon, in pre-season caught the eye of the then Newport manager, Michael Flynn, and the attacking midfielder has not looked back since. A specialist in the spectacular – long-range rockets and free-kicks are his forte – Twine, who wears the No 9 shirt at MK Dons, has added a poacher’s instinct to his palette.
8) James Hill, 19, Fleetwood Town
Such is the centre-back’s burgeoning reputation, a Barcelona scout paid Fleetwood a visit in October to cast an eye over the teenager. Hill made his first-team debut aged 16 against Blackpool who, along with Bolton, released him as a youngster. More than 50 senior appearances later, he is attracting interest from top-flight clubs. Lee Carsley, the England Under-21s manager, watched Hill against Wycombe to see how he would cope with the brawn of Adebayo Akinfenwa and was suitably impressed, calling him up to his squad in November. Hill, son of the former Bristol City full-back Matt, had to withdraw because of a knee injury, but more opportunities beckon.
9) Dan Neil, 20, Sunderland
The academy graduate has enjoyed a breakthrough season under Lee Johnson, earning an England Under-20s call-up in November – alongside his club-mate Dennis Cirkin – after starring in midfield. His first professional goal, a delicious left-foot strike against Accrington from outside the box in September, provided a snapshot of his ability and craft. Sunderland view Neil as a future captain and he has already worn the armband in the EFL Trophy. “He’s got that lovely dribbling technique, a little bit like a young Paul Gascoigne,” says Johnson.
10) Ayoub Assal, 19, AFC Wimbledon
Perhaps the pick of the bunch when it comes to the Dons’ exciting youngsters, the attacking midfielder has excelled since scoring on his league debut in March. The Dons’ head coach, Mark Robinson, who was formerly academy manager, has nurtured the development of the No 10, who started his career at Millwall. Assal, whose parents are Moroccan, has scored six goals in all competitions this season, impressing alongside Jack Rudoni, 20, Luke McCormick, 22, and the left-back Nesta Guinness-Walker, 22.
